Beyond Mental Health
When we talk about workplace wellbeing, we often focus on mental health, stress management, and resilience. But what about emotional health? As we mark #EmotionalHealthWeek, it’s time to ask: are we creating workplaces where people feel psychologically safe to express, process, and manage their emotions effectively?
Too often, organisations overlook the role emotions play in decision-making, leadership, and team dynamics. When people feel unheard, undervalued, or emotionally drained, it affects performance, engagement, and retention. Leaders who fail to acknowledge emotional health risk fostering a culture of disconnection, low morale, and burnout.
I worked with an engineering business where high-performance was the expectation, but emotional intelligence was absent. Employees were discouraged from discussing stress, frustration, or uncertainty – leading to low engagement and increasing absenteeism. When leadership embraced emotional literacy training and normalised open conversations, trust grew, communication improved, and turnover decreased.
The Harvard Business Review reports that emotionally intelligent leaders drive 76% higher engagement and 40% lower turnover in their teams. Organisations that actively support emotional health see stronger collaboration, innovation, and decision-making.
How Can We Implement This?
Think of emotional health like an operating system—it runs in the background, quietly shaping productivity, collaboration, and culture. When it’s healthy, everything runs smoothly. When neglected, the system crashes.
For leaders looking to make emotional health a business strength, here are three key steps:
- Encourage Emotional Literacy: Train leaders to recognise, understand, and respond to emotions effectively—both their own and their teams’.
- Create Space for Expression: Implement regular check-ins, listening circles, or anonymous feedback channels to allow employees to voice concerns without fear of judgement.
- Model Emotionally Healthy Leadership: Senior teams should demonstrate self-awareness, constructive emotional expression, and an openness to discussing challenges authentically.
Let’s Talk
How is your organisation supporting emotional health at work? Let’s connect to explore how emotionally intelligent leadership can drive real culture change.
#Wellbeing #Leadership #PsychologicalSafety #Burnout #MentalHealth #Stress
